The Hunted
by Keiko Yuki
Summary: Post-HBP not DH-compliant; Draco Malfoy has been on the run forever it seems and he's starting to get sick of it. Not caring what happens to him, he becomes careless and runs into Aurors several times. When it seems that his desire for the end is to be gr


Title: The Hunted

Author: Keiko Yuki

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Suspense, Romance (in a Hurt/Comfort kind of way if you squint)

Warnings: attempted suicide, depression, written while listening to She Wants Revenge... That's about it.

Summary: Post-HBP not DH-compliant; Draco Malfoy has been on the run forever it seems and he's starting to get sick of it. Not caring what happens to him, he becomes careless and runs into Aurors several times. When it seems that his desire for the end is to be granted, someone lends him a hand. He doesn't know which is worse...

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1. Help

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'You should probably run now...'

Astonished grey stared into nonplussed green and before he could question the person before him, he heard _them_.

A door being blasted open and feet pounding against the rotting wood of the house he'd entered hoping to have a full night's rest in Merlin knew how long... They spoke to each other and a wash of cold signaled the casting of a spell into the atmosphere of the house. They started to traverse the stairs loudly, one set faltering as if they had stumbled. The stumble seemed to slow down the others.

It sounded like an impossibly large group of wizards, though in retrospect it could have been only two or three. The amount of Aurors was not the problem, the real issue was how the fuck he was getting out of there. His gaze had broken from the stare at the sound of voices and by the time he'd thought to look back, he was alone.

Turning on his heel, he willed himself to apparate only to find himself staring at the back of the closet he'd been found in. That was the spell they'd cast, an anti-apparition block. He should have known.

Tears of frustration in his eyes, he ran as was suggested.

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2. Don't

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'Why?' Draco had just managed to find it. He'd known he hadn't been alone in this house and now he stood with weary triumph. The presence he'd felt since his arrival was before him. He finally had his adversary cornered.

'Why not?' a shrug and then a wry quirk of the lips. The voice seemed nonchalant, unworried.

Draco swallowed deeply, perhaps trying to avoid the growl he so very much wanted to emit. His frustration at the lack of answers and his constant runningfightingwanting_needing_. He was sick of it and he just wanted it to end. Whether he was dead or alive in this end, he was starting to care not.

He took a step forward, obviously trying to intimidate with proximity. At a tensing from the other his heart fluttered wildly with excitement.

'Don't,' he heard before he was alone once more.

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3. Fall

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Panting, he clutched at his newly wounded side. He had never run so fast in his life and he winced as the dead branches scratched him as he passed.

His breaths were starting to drown out the sounds of the forest around him and it made him panic even more. Not knowing when they would find him had been bad enough, waiting in a small Muggle tent for the time when he would have to escape once more.

They had his magical signature on some sort of tracking charm, he'd discovered. This meant that apparition was once again not an option. Under the constant panting and gasping he heard a different kind of babble. Before the connection could be made, he was forced to stop at the edge of a cliff. Through the gloom of wintery twilight he made out the rushing whiteness of a river. Heart pounding in his ears and pain lancing through his side, he quickly assessed his situation.

Aurors were following him but he'd managed to lose them. He guessed he had another twenty or so seconds to make a decision, but he didn't need them. Relief washed over him as he arrived at it. A small smile graced his features and for once in a long time Draco Malfoy looked like a teenager on the precipice of adulthood.

Pressing his hand against his wound, he winced but soon relaxed as both the adrenaline and endorphins washed over him. He could hear them now, see their wands lit and projecting light toward him. Once he looked into their faces, he would show them what they'd been chasing.

Wild hair the color of the trees around him was what he saw first and it surprised him. Next he registered the silence. He knew there had been more than one, he'd seen them coming and was sure he'd counted seven shadows.

'Malfoy,' the voice carried shakily into his ears, lighter than the wind whipping her hair into disarray.

Clarity struck him and he laughed bitterly. 'Granger.'

'You need to find a way to get to this address.' In the girl--no, _woman_'s hand was a small slip of paper, which she levitated to him.

Smart, he thought absently. He probably would have done something drastic had she tried to approach him.

Long digits wrapped around the paper though his eyes never faltered from holding her gaze. 'Why?' He asked once more.

A wave of the hand and she turned so that he saw her face in profile, 'why not, Malfoy?'

Before she could disappear, he jumped.

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4. Healer

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'I just don't understand how someone so smart could be so stupid!'

'Maybe it _was_ smart. They were close.'

'Yes, well, he's lucky I'm a medic. Look at his wounds!'

Draco groaned, the sound of the voices arguing made him want to clap his hands over his ears for relief. As he made the decision to do just that he realised that his arms wouldn't move. Instead of panic setting in he took a deep breath and tried again.

'I think he's awake.' An excited voice sounded not far from where Draco lay.

'Weren't you just leaving?' Another voice, though this sounded short-tempered.

'Yes, but...' Definite hesitancy, noted Draco.

'Just go. You can see him later, you won't do much good for him now.'

'I suppose you're right.' This statement was followed by two sets of footsteps walking away from him. One, two, three, four, five strides and then the door opened with a small creaking protest. One set of footsteps returned.

It took Draco this amount of time to get his fingers to curl on command and he was working on his wrists when a cool hand covered his left wrist.

'Malfoy,' the voice sounded more gentle than it had been to the other man who had left though not necessarily friendly. Draco kept his eyes closed and focused on keeping his breath even.

'Okay then,' The healer seemed willing to play along but carried on as if Draco were awake, showing he was not fooled. 'Well I'm checking your pulse now. Fifty-eight, that's okay I suppose...a little lower than I'd like." The person murmured to himself like this as he palpated other areas of Draco's body. Had he been able-bodied, Draco would have been out of there faster than one could say 'petrificus' but as it was he still couldn't do much more than flex his fingers.

'I'm going to look at your wound now.' Draco's heart sped up as he remembered the wound and the pain it would most likely deal once prodded. As cool fingers pealed back his worn shirt an unpleasant smell wafted to his nose. Draco groaned at just the thought of what his wound looked like.

'Yes, well that's what happens when you go for a bath in a filthy river and then lie in the dirt for days. You've an infection and that'll take ages to heal properly.'

The healer continued on this vein while he splashed cool liquid into the wound, most likely some sort of disinfectant. The smell grew worse as the grime was cleared out of the wound but thankfully the pain didn't get any worse.

'There's some necrosis where the bacteria killed the skin cells. I'm afraid I'll have to cut out the damaged flesh. I'll get you a pain potion.' It sounded as if the healer had been kneeling by the bed the whole time and was cracking his spine as he stood. With a groan, the healer vacated the room and left Draco to open his eyes.

He wasn't surprised to find that he knew not where he'd ended up, hopefully his days of crawling had carried him closer to the place on the paper. Nothing in the room seemed to give him any clues either. The voice of the healer had been familiar but he'd not been able to make it out. He'd gotten water in his ears from his fall into the river and suspected he had an ear infection as well. Trusting the healer seemed to be his only option at the moment considering his current state of being and he closed his eyes tightly.

He hadn't realised he'd fallen asleep until he woke up to a pair of wide blue eyes.

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5. Aware

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The next thing he noticed (after the blueness of the eyes) was a heavily freckled nose. After this revelation, everything clicked into place, red Weasley hair and all. Draco groaned aloud. Of course Granger would lead him here.

A chuckle sounded from his right but his gaze remained focused on the Weasel to his left. 'Yo--' he tried but failed at words.

'It's okay Malfoy, don't strain yourself.' Ronald Weasley ran a hand through his hair and looked over the supine body toward his companion and then gave a sympathetic smile. 'You've had it a bit rough, I'd imagine. Just by looking at the state of you I can tell you've been on the run for a while now.'

A chair was dragged from the desk a few paces from the bed to settle a foot from Draco's bed. Ron straddled the back of the chair and rested his chin atop the crossed arms that had settled across the backrest. 'Let's see, you had a gangrenous, infected, putrid-smelling wound about 18cm long and 5cm wide; two infected ears, which by the way I've healed; a fractured wrist; cuts and bruises everywhere both of which I've also taken care of; and you're suffering from malnutrition. Did I get everything?' A small unhappy smile twisted Ron's mouth as he stared back at the blonde lying motionless, grey eyes fixed upon the ceiling.

'I'm...' Draco started and swallowed but couldn't continue.

'It's okay Malfoy. I know.' Ron then stood and walked to the door, then exited.

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6. Warmth

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'You wanted to know why... before.' The other started from his right ages after the redhead had left.

After seeing Granger in the dying wood before his attempted suicide, he had guessed that the Gryffindor trio was helping him but he had always excluded Ron from the equation. His assistance and lack of venom puzzled him but he didn't have the strength to even care anymore. He considered the voice of the person sitting at his side. It sounded tired and worried and a bit guilty underneath it all. This person he had been avoiding from the start. He knew that once he spoke, he would lose what little self-restraint he had. Questions he'd had these last months quickly abandoned him. He was bone-weary and tired of being on the run. Whatever his fate, he just wanted to get this conversation over with.

Draco didn't think he wanted to know anymore. He knew that Potter had been underhandedly helping him for what seemed to be years on the run but had really only been weeks, maybe months. He'd been alone for so long before then that he'd almost forgotten that there were people who weren't looking to collect the bounty on his head. After Snape's death, it seemed as if he were alone save those who were chasing him.

He fought the hot prickle against his eyes and shut them tightly. His fists clenched as he fought for control of himself.

'I don't.' Draco managed.

Warm fingers pried open the clenched fist and wrapped around it. Draco's tears overwhelmed him. Harry Potter sat on the edge of Draco Malfoy's bed, both hands clasped gently around one of the other man's and watched him cry.

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A/N: Short thing written spur of the moment. Please R&R!


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